Give Me A Tin Cup Because I Need To Play the Bars
by kira66
Summary: When Shawn is discovered to be a fraud he and Gus are sentenced to 15 years, each, in prison. When a murder occurs, three years into their sentence, in the prison it brings them face to face, as prime suspects, with Detectives Lassiter and O'Hara.
1. Chapter 1

The Warden stood on the wall and surveyed the exercise yard with sharp eyes. The yard was basically separated into two sections, as it had been for years; the Daggers and their allies on one side taking up the free weights and on the basketball court was the Aces and those loyal to them. The Daggers were lead by a con serving four life sentences named Thomas Buckley or Snake as he liked to be called. And the Aces were lead by an equally dangerous con named Louis Roscoe aka Thor. And on a regular day you could find the two gangs at each others throats but today was quiet and that had the Warden worried; quiet days meant something was brewing. Something big and something bad. It was the quiet that had him double up on guards. Better safe than sorry and he most certainly didn't want a repeat of '04. A commotion near the edge of the basketball court drew his attention and he watched as the guards on duty moved in to brake up the impending fight before it could spread. He took note that it was the Daggers very own Lieutenant and his friend that had tauntingly crossed the invisible line that divided the yard in half. If asked three years ago if those two were gonna be any trouble he would have said no without hesitation. But now….now they were just as dangerous as their fellow Daggers. He must have zoned out because before he knew it the yard was empty and he was being joined on the wall by one of the guards that had contained the situation in the yard earlier. "What was it about this time?"

"Word is the Aces are responsible for putting Carlos Reynaldo in the infirmary." The guard, Jonathan Watkins, reported. "I don't think Snake is gonna let this matter drop until he has blood."

"Carlos Reynaldo." The Warden searched his memory. "He just arrived a couple of weeks ago, right? He's serving time for manslaughter. He one of Snake's boys?"

The guard nodded. "From what I heard they took him in right off the bus. He has yet to get his tat but I'm guessing it'll be waiting for him when he gets out of the infirmary."

Sighing the Warden shook his head. "Search their cells before he's released and confiscate all items that can be jerry-rigged into a tattoo gun. I don't want to see any ink on the boy, understood?"

"Yes, sir." The guard nodded and went off to see about organizing a series of searches of the Daggers cells. He'd oversee the search personally.

* * *

_**One Week Later**_

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As the Warden watched the convicts eat from his office above he couldn't help but notice that the Daggers had an extra body at their tables. Somehow, despite his best efforts, Carlos Reynaldo, still sporting bruises and stitches, had received his tattoo, a dagger on both sides of his neck stretching from ear to collar bone. It was the tattoo that all Daggers sported just like the Aces all sported tattoos of Ace of Spade cards on the right side of their necks. He knew it was more than an initiation into the gang. It was a death sentence to the person that had put Carlos into the infirmary. He also knew that in a day or two a body belonging to the Aces would be found in the shower room stabbed to death with no witnesses. He watched as the newest member was welcomed and after a few moments hit the intercom near the door. "Escort Misters Spencer and Guster to my office please." Grey eyes once again returned to scene below and he watched with grim satisfaction as the two men sitting on either side of Carlos was hauled to their feet, their identical tats catching the light, and escorted, protesting, from the cafeteria. He knew he'd get nothing from them and he wasn't sure why he still singled them out. Their days of helping any law enforcement officer was over and had been the moment they were accepted into the Daggers. It was admittedly sad to have bared witness to those twos loss of innocence as gradual as it was. He knew they had yet, in all three years they had been incarcerated, to receive any visitors. No friends or family waited for them on visiting day and he could see it in their eyes that they no longer longed for contact from the outside world. The Daggers were their family; a family that took care of their own. He could still remember the look in Spencers eyes when he was told that the men that had hurt Guster, that had put him in the infirmary because of the color of his skin, were gonna get away with it because there was no evidence but the eye witness account of another convict. It was that moment that Shawn Spencer accepted that he was a convict and two days later he joined the Daggers and two days after that the guys that had beaten Burton Guster to within an inch of his life were laid up in the infirmary sporting broken bones and concussions. The Warden had held out hope that once Guster was released he'd talk some sense into his friend but instead, weather it was out of gratitude to the Daggers for carrying out some form of justice or loyalty to his friend, Burton 'Gus' Guster turned up with daggers inked on his neck and elevated status within the prison population; he was off limits and everyone knew it and accepted it. He moved around his desk when a knock sounded on the door. "Show them in." Everyone else may have given up on these two but he'd be damned if he was.


	2. Chapter 2

True to his prediction two days later an Ace was found stabbed to death on the shower room floor. But this wasn't your everyday run of the mill gang-banger. The man that the Daggers took their revenge upon was an undercover cop sent in some months prior by the Santa Barbara Police Department to shadow a convict by the name of Luis Ramirez; a convict they were looking to tie several unsolved murders to. How or why he got entangled with Aces was a mystery not only to the Warden but also his superiors. Which was why the Warden was currently dealing with two headaches by the names of Carlton Lassiter and Juliet O'Hara. "As I told your Chief on the phone and as I'm sure she told you I cannot allow the inmates routines to be disturbed. I have no problem with you questioning them but I cannot, will not, give you free rein of my prison."

"You must understand how much pressure we are under to solve this case as quickly and quietly as possible." Detective Juliet O'Hara implored. "The Governor feels that if this were to get out it would shine a bad light on the California correctional system." _And himself._ Was left unsaid.

Warden Daniels folded his hands on front of him on his desk. "What I understand is that I didn't want your man undercover in my prison to begin with and I made my position clear. I told your Chief that I couldn't give him special treatment nor could I give him his own personal guard. His life was in danger the minute he stepped foot inside my walls. But I also understand this is a political time bomb waiting to explode so I offer you my full cooperation within reasonable boundaries. I don't want a riot on my hands Detectives."

Detective Carlton Lassiter had to admit that the Warden made a point and a good one. Convicts lived structured lives and disrupting that would be a mistake that could lead to chaos. "Very well Warden we will use your discretion in handling the interviews. Are there any suspects?"

"There are always suspects Detective." The Warden pulled out a folder from under a bunch of papers on his desk. "This is a list of Daggers, you'll wanna start with them first. Their beef against the Aces isn't exactly a secret."

Juliet leaned forward and took the folder and began to flip through the pages. "What are Daggers and Aces exactly?" She asked after a minute.

The Warden sat back in his chair. "Weren't you briefed on the specifics of this case? Your man, your Detective, Oliver Wainwright, was a member of the Aces; a prison gang run by a man who calls himself Thor. And the Daggers are another prison gang run by Snake and his Lieutenant, Psycho. Both gangs have been enemies since this prison opened back in the 50's and both aren't afraid to shed blood to make a point."

"That's impossible. Detective Wainwright wouldn't have gotten himself involved with a gang." Lassiter defended the young Detective that he mentored.

"The proof is in the cards Detective Lassiter." The Warden pulled out a crime scene photo and passed it across his desk.

"The proof is in the cards?" Juliet took the photo and her eyes were automatically drawn to the tattoo on the side of the young Detectives neck. It was obviously prison ink and the image was clearly that of an ace of spades playing card. The mystery surrounding Wainwrights death just deepened. "When can we start those interviews?" She asked after passing the photo to her partner.

The Warden pushed the intercom button on his desk. "Start rounding up the first batch and take them to the library. The Detectives will be alone shortly." He looked up at the two seated in front of his desk. "How about now?"


	3. Chapter 3

Juliet let out a sigh of relief when the last two convicts were lead from the room. "Anymore on that list?" She questioned her partner as two more names were eliminated from the suspect list.

"Just three O'Hara." Lassiter said then looked, questioningly, at the guards that were assisting them. "Well?" He looked down at his copy of the list. "Where are Psycho, Medicine Man, and Snake? What kind of names are these anyways?" He looked to Juliet as if she had the answers.

"I have no idea." Juliet answered honestly then looked at the guards. "Where exactly are Psycho, Medicine Man, and Snake? Didn't the Warden tell you to bring all of the Daggers here for us to interview?"

"Yes, ma'am." The nearest guard, Jason Mimosa, told her. "He did tell us to bring all _available _Daggers here. And that is what we did."

Lassiter narrowed his eyes at the guards tone. "_Available_? You're telling me three suspects are unavailable? What are they doing getting their nails done?"

The second guard, Steven Weber, snorted. He couldn't wait for these two Detectives to leave because they were annoying on so many levels. "Their nail appointments were yesterday, _sir._ Today they are cooling their heels in the _Hole_."

"The hole? What the hell is the hole?" Lassiter demanded to know. "Well?" This case was causing him stress and the stress was putting him into a very foul mood.

Jason, having had enough of the Detectives superior attitudes, glared at them. "The _Hole _is solitary confinement. And they don't get out until the Warden decides to let them out. And they might be convicts but if you treated them like human beings they might be more willing to talk." He spit out having witnessed most of the interviews. "You respect them and they will respect you. As for those three." He motioned with his head towards the paper containing the list of suspects. "Those three demand respect before they will even look at you. Snake is the leader of the Daggers and has been since the previous leader met an _untimely_ demise in the laundry room about fifteen year ago. And Psycho is his Lieutenant and no one even wants to know what he did to get Snakes respect. And Medicine Man….Medicine Man is Psycho's friend therefore on equal standing in the eyes of the gang. Learn the rules of the gangs or get out of the prison!" He turned on his heels and stormed out of the library.

Juliet blinked. "O…kay. Anyways, why, exactly, are they in solitary?" She questioned the remaining guard.

Steven shifted from foot to foot. "Daggers got a new member not too long ago and the Aces put him in the infirmary. The Ace that was killed was killed because of that incident, it's the whole eye for an eye thing. Anyways a couple guards caught the Dagger Elites in the kitchen last night with three beaten Aces. You gotta understand that justice here is swift and severe. Anyways they were caught and the Warden put them in the _Hole _to _think_ about what they did."

Lassiter blinked. "_Think_ about what they did? Are you serious?" He pinched the bridge of his nose. Wasn't it convenient that three of their suspects were unavoidably detailed? Actually from what they had just been told the three were now prime suspects; no one did anything in a gang without the leadership knowing about it. "What is this kindergarten?" He mumbled.

"Any idea when they'll be reintroduced to the population?" Juliet asked ignoring her partners snark.

"That's entirely up to the Warden." Steven told the clearly stressed out Detective. "Could be days or even weeks." He said with a shrug. "Longest the Warden has left anyone in the _Hole _is a month."

"Well isn't that great?" Lassiter grumbled. "A month is unacceptable." With that said he stood and went to find the Warden.

Juliet sighed as she watched Lassiter storm out of their makeshift interview room. "Do all the guards respect the inmates or is that just you and your friend?" She asked the remaining guard.

Steven shifted uncomfortably. "Psycho and Medicine Man are good people that got a raw deal. We don't get many of those around here as a matter of fact most of our population deserves to be here."

"So you think they're innocent?" Juliet asked having no idea what they were in for. "Can you tell me a little about them?" If she couldn't interview them then maybe she could use her time to gather a little background information.

Shifting again Steven frowned ."I think what they did didn't warrant a prison sentence or at least not one this long. They were completely unprepared for life within a prison when they arrived. Medicine Man was put in the infirmary a short time later and almost died. I know Psycho took it hard and that's when he joined up with the Daggers. Sad to say but it was the only way for his friend to get justice. Medicine Man joined up a couple days after being released from the Doc's care . Those two are thick as thieves. As for Snake he's one of the ones that belong here. He killed two college students during a robbery at a gas station a number of years ago and stole their car. He went on to rob three more gas stations and leave behind two more bodies before the police caught up with him hole up at some crummy motel just miles from his the last robbery. He took the manager hostage and ended up killing him before the police ended his crime spree with a bullet to the head; he recovered, obviously, but he has no impulse control. Psycho and Medicine Man as his first and second are close to him so they keep his quick temper in check most of the time. They also make sure his orders are carried out and punish those who disobey, not that many do, at least not anymore."

Juliet tilted her head to the side. "So what did they do to get the respect of someone with Snake's background?"

Steven looked away from the blonde Detective. "Nobody knows for sure. It's just rumors mostly. The group that messed up Medicine Man did it cause he's _colored_. Everyone knew it and their group boasted about it whenever Psycho was around. Bigots the lot of them. I wasn't here with this went down but rumor is that one day they crossed the line, said they hoped the _monkey_ died cause _it_ didn't deserve to breath _their_ air. Psycho went….well….psycho on them. Beat two of them pretty good before the guards, took three of them, could pull him off. Couple days later he joined the Daggers and the people that hurt his friend ended up in the infirmary; one didn't survive his injures. That day he earned his name, his rank, and his tats."

"Tats? Like the Aces?" Juliet questioned wanting to find out all she could before her partner returned, if he returned, and caused this Guard to storm out as well.

"Daggers inked on both sides of their neck." Steven confirmed. "You better tell your partner to tread lightly when it comes to Medicine Man and Psycho cause they're the Warden's _special_ case. Word is he took a shining to them way back when they first arrived. Since then he's kept an eye on them. He doesn't favor them or nothing." He quickly clarified. "If they cause trouble or whatever they're punished just like anyone else. But he does see to it that they get jobs in the library, kitchen, and laundry as opposed to some of the other vocations that are offered. Even got them interested in taking classes to get a college degree so when they get out they have something to fall back on." He looked down at his watch. "Its almost time for chow so you might want to head on back to the Warden's office now. It gets kinda chaotic around here this time." He waited until she gathered her things and escorted her back to the main office then disappeared to help get things organized for the supper rush.


End file.
